Vibrations associated with a moving vehicle are due, at least in part, to tire/road contact forces. These vibrations may originate from a non-uniformity of the tire construction that is amplified by rotation of the tire, creating a rhythmic beating while driving. These may be further amplified by the resonances of the tire/vehicle system.
Generally, the amplitude of the vibrations increases with an increased speed of the vehicle. Therefore, it has become of significant interest, within the tire manufacturing industry, to improve the design of tires for better performance at high speeds. High speed uniformity (“HSU”) machines are commercially available for quantifying the various forces generated when the tire that is rotating with an angular velocity that is equivalent to land speeds of up to 250 km/h (about 155 mph). Alternatively, computer models have been designed to simulate the force variations without actual construction of the tires.
There is significant interest in continuing to develop further improvements in the HSU performance of tires by evaluating the effects of tire construction, including the shape and stiffness of the tire tread.